今天上翻譯課學了一個翻譯，大概是Every president, as I assume , leaves the White House poorer than he came in.（有點記不太清了）

句子的翻譯是歷任總統在離開白宮後都比之前窮了。但是我的理解是總統使得白宮潦倒了。請問在英語的文法中會不會出現類似於中國的歧義病句

比如：他在山上發現了敵人。

1、敵人在山上 2、他在山上，發現了敵人（不一定在山上）

有。

歧義英文叫ambiguity：是指一個句子有兩種以上的解釋。

比如這句：Mary gave her pet food.可以意味著：1. 瑪麗把食物給她的寵物。2. 瑪麗把寵物食品給她。3. 瑪麗給出了她的寵物食品。

原句看起來有些問題

  • consume 是什麼意思？
  • leave 應採用第三人稱單數
  • leave the White House poorer，結構上類似 leave the door open，使美國政府更窮，從這裡看意義是矛盾的

以上也許是因為題主記不清了

從邏輯關係上看，leave 是和 came in 相對的，所以這句話可以轉換成 Every president (when) leaving the White House is poorer than him (when) coming in. 譯文是沒有問題的。

至於英文中的歧義，是有很多的。比如前面的知友舉的例子。另外，在長句中尤為明顯。因為長句的結構複雜，並列成分和修飾成分多，有的時候很難判斷修飾成分修飾的對象，即使藉助上下文也難以斷定。

舉一個出現在協議中的例子：

Party A is required to submit as set forth hereinabove the application form and any other documents which are deemed necessary for the performance hereof by the date as specified hereinafter.

句中的定語從句 which are ... hereof 修飾的成分是什麼？

any other documents 還是 the application form attached hereto and any other documents？

根據不同的理解，譯文會略有不同：

  • 甲方必須依照上文所述方式並於下文明確規定的日期前提交履行本協議所需的申請表和其他任何文件。
  • 甲方必須依照上文所述方式並於下文明確規定的日期前提交申請表和履行本協議所需的其他任何文件。

以上僅供參考，歡迎訪問我的知乎專欄和微信公眾號

有一門課在講義上寫著最後一節課是「nopapertest」，我以為是沒有考試，後面快結課的時候才恍然大悟，是無紙考試的意思。痛恨整個學期都沒有好好聽課。

You are fucking genius.

肯定有啊，可能還有一語雙關的。I lost some money at the casino.我到底在賭場丟錢還是輸錢了？

「他在山上發現了敵人。」並沒有表達「敵人在山上」，「他發現敵人在山上。」才有此意。

I saw a man on a hill with a telescope.

  • There』s a man on a hill, and I』m watching him with my telescope.
  • There』s a man on a hill, who I』m seeing, and he has a telescope.
  • There』s a man, and he』s on a hill that also has a telescope on it.
  • I』m on a hill, and I saw a man using a telescope.
  • There』s a man on a hill, and I』m sawing him with a telescope.
  • ……

Look at the dog with one eye.

  1. Look at the dog using only one of your eyes.
  2. Look at the dog that only has one eye.
  3. Perhaps the dog has found an eye somewhere, and we』re looking at the dog.

其他例子

Sarah gave a bath to her dog wearing a pink t-shirt.

Ambiguity: Is the dog wearing the pink t-shirt?

I have never tasted a cake quite like that one before!

Ambiguity: Was the cake good or bad?

Did you see her dress?

Ambiguity: Is she getting dressed or are they talking about her clothes?

What are some examples of ambiguous sentences??

www.quora.com

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